Social Media Advertising vs. Organic Posts in Canada

As a business owner or marketer in Canada, you know Social Media Advertising is a must-have. With over 31 million active users, it’s the fastest way to connect with your customers. But once you’re on the platforms, a big question comes up: should you rely on organic posts or invest in paid advertising?

Organic posts are the content you share for free—your photos, videos, and stories that your followers see in their feed. Social media advertising, on the other hand, is when you pay to promote your content and show it to a specific group of people. Both strategies have their own strengths and weaknesses. The key is to understand how to use them together for a powerful marketing strategy.

1. The Power of Organic Posts

Organic social media is all about building real, genuine connections with your audience. It’s the foundation of your Social Media Advertising presence. Think of it as your brand’s personality, a way to show who you are and what you stand for.

Building Trust and Authenticity

Organic content feels more authentic. When people see a post from a brand that isn’t a paid ad, they are more likely to trust it. This is because organic content is often less polished and more real. You can use it to share behind-the-scenes looks at your business, introduce your team, or share content from your customers (called user-generated content). This type of content helps you build a loyal community that feels connected to your brand.

For a Canadian business, this authenticity is crucial. Customers appreciate when a brand feels local and relatable, not like a big corporation. Sharing a picture of your product at a local Canadian landmark or highlighting a story about your team helping in the community builds a deeper connection with your audience.

Cost-Effective Marketing

The biggest advantage of organic Social Media Advertising is that it doesn’t cost money to post. This is a huge win for small businesses or startups with a limited budget. You invest time and effort into creating good content, not money. While it might take a while to grow your audience, the relationships you build are long-lasting and valuable. You can get a ton of value from a great organic post if your audience loves it and shares it with their friends.

2. The Impact of Paid Social Media Advertising

Organic reach has become more and more challenging over the years. Social Media Advertising algorithms are always changing, and your posts might not even show up in your followers’ feeds. This is where paid advertising comes in. It’s a way to cut through the noise and get your content in front of exactly the right people.

Reaching a Wider, Targeted Audience

Social Media Advertising ads let you target your content to a super specific audience. You can choose who sees your ad based on their age, location in Canada, interests, and even their online behavior. For example, if you own a snowshoe company in Quebec, you can create an ad that only shows up for people in Quebec who are interested in hiking and winter sports. You can’t do that with a regular organic post. This kind of targeting helps you reach new customers who don’t already follow you and are most likely to buy your product.

Getting Instant Results

Organic growth is a slow game. It can take months or even years to build a big following. With paid advertising, you can get instant results. When you launch a campaign, your content starts showing up in people’s feeds right away. This is perfect for when you have a big sale, a new product launch, or an event you need to promote quickly. You can drive traffic to your website, get sign-ups for a newsletter, or increase sales in a very short amount of time.

3. The Hybrid Strategy: Best of Both Worlds

You don’t have to choose between organic and paid Social Media Advertising. The most successful Canadian businesses use a hybrid strategy. They use organic content to build trust and community and use paid advertising to amplify their best content and reach new audiences.

Here’s how you can make a hybrid strategy work for you:

• Test and Learn with Organic: You should first post content organically. See what your audience loves. If a video or a photo gets a lot of likes, comments, and shares, you know it’s a winner.
• Boost Your Best Posts: Once you find a high-performing organic post, you should put a small budget behind it. This is called “boosting” a post. When you boost it, you can show that great content to a much wider audience, including people who don’t follow you yet.
• Use Paid Ads for Specific Goals: You should use a paid ad campaign for things that need a direct action. This includes promoting a sale, getting people to sign up for a contest, or driving traffic to a specific product page on your website.

By combining the authenticity of organic posts with the reach and targeting of paid ads, you can create a Social Media Advertising that works hard for your business. You get to build a loyal community while also reaching thousands of new potential customers all across Canada.